The Epsilon Protocols
by The Bluefire Phoenix
Summary: We're so close and yet so far right now. She will save me, save all of us. But can what they've created be controlled? Or will it consume her body and soul?
1. Layer I

The following is a non-profit, fan work based off the respective works of Kazuma Kamachi and Ryūtarō Nakamura

All rights belong to the original creators, J.C. Staff Co., Ltd.; and Triangle Staff

The Bluefire Phoenix presents...

A _Project: Life Spark_ Story...

 _The Epsilon Protocols_

Layer I: Never Deny a Spur to Action

 _A name..._

 _A name…_

It was my first thought. I was looking for a name. Why was beyond me. All I knew existing in the cold darkness was that I didn't have one to recall and that I needed one. Yet I didn't need one as I was all that there was. But it felt wrong for me not to have one.

What I found more bizarre was recognition of the sensation of cold. Again I didn't know why I knew what it was and its name. I also didn't know how I was experiencing the sensation.

 _"Damn it Saten I told you not to do that!"_

A voice! No it couldn't be. I was alone in this cold darkness. There was no one but me.

 _"What did you expect me to do? Your way is too slow."_

A second voice? Perhaps I was listing in on something beyond my little universe.

 _"She's thawing out too fast. I'm trying to keep it steady but I can't hack and maintain thermal equilibrium at the same flipping time here."_

 _"Hey guys, I think we're screwed."_

Now a third voice? Something started to pound somewhere around me. The cold was starting to create an outline of…me?

 _"I wasn't able to lose our new friend."_

 _"Oh crap."_

 _"We can't quit now! I've almost got her and this might be our only shot at getting her out."_

What was going on?

 _"I say we live fight ano—"_

Everything went silent. I heard a hiss. I felt the rush of particulate matter crawl up my skin. My chest heaved. Air rushed into my lungs. My legs started to wobble as I took a step forward. I couldn't lift my head but my eyes opened.

The first thing I saw was my bare feet. Then there was my body. It appeared to be the somewhat lanky figure of a teenaged girl that was wearing white boxer briefs and a white sports bra. Thick, wet brown hair masked the upper bounds of my vision.

My rubbery legs finally gave out. I collapsed to my knees. My vision blurred a bit. The water stained image of people filled my eyes. The cold that first greeted me had been banished by an unsettling heat. Void-like silence replaced by an unnerving hum floating in the background.

"Another one? You must've been forgotten in the shuffle. Oh well, I guess today isn't your lucky day," a feminine voice said through a heavy electric voice filter. I heard a spark followed by pain. Electricity coursed into my body. I didn't scream as the volts struck me. There was no energy to do so.

For all I had left was poured into my instincts kicking in. Something started churning faster and faster inside my brain. A magnetic field formed around my left arm. The electricity stated to collect in the makeshift capacitor. It grew bigger and bigger until it stopped. My fist was clenched tight.

I could see the sparks dancing around my arm. My legs began to awaken as I forced myself off the floor. The gait I was able to manage was somewhere between a drunken stumble and a wounded hobble. I finally lifted up my head to look up at the assailant.

My vision may have been blurry but I could make out a masked figure clad in black. She wielded a glowing rod of plasma. "You aren't like the others are you?" the figure asked in its masked voice.

Things inside my head began to churn. I imagined dozens upon dozens of negative charges all over the figure. My eyes bulged and twitched. The charges I imagined became real! The magnetic capacitor around my arm dissipated and the collected electricity rushed towards the figure.

Their target gathered the heavy cloak on her shoulders and twirled around. The bolts impacted the material, creating hundreds of small scars on it. The last of the electrons were absorbed or deflected. I took a deep breath.

"I must admit you're the first reject I've run into that even tried to put up a fight," the strange girl spat through her voice filter. She stepped forward. Hair all over my body stood up from static emanating from the girl.

She aimed her strange plasma sword at me. My skin squirmed in every direction. I had to turn my head away from the bright blade.

"But like all rejects, you will be put down. One way or another," the girl said. She pulled back her sword. My limbs started twitching. A vortex of electricity started to swirl around me. The sparks popped and crackled as the vortex sped up. I turned to my attacker. She had paused her swing, leaving the blade locked behind her back. I could see her step back.

"Reject," the word flowed from my lips. The lightning storm around me continued to grow as I stepped forward. "Reject? You call me that as if it's supposed to mean something. Am I defective? Am I somehow inferior? Tell me, who am I?"

The last few words were screamed at the other girl. All the lightning around my body rushed outward in a vicious wave as my voice reached a pitched crescendo. Windows to my right shattered apart as hundreds upon thousands of volts pounded into them. Light bulbs disintegrated. A rush of air scattered the various papers in the room.

Power pumped through my veins. Red was all I could see. I bore my teeth and retracted the lightning back around me. My chest heaved as I pressed my advance.

My foe's plasma sword turned into a metal pole. It retracted into a hilt. She bolted for the window, throwing up an electrical field. I created one of my old of the same charge. The girl in black was launched backwards into the lion's den. She fell onto her back.

I was now standing over her. "No, no, no. You shouldn't be. Shouldn't be!" she started to rant. Even behind the voice filter the panic in her tone was palpable. I think I even salivated a bit in response.

" _I_ very much _am_. Now tell me, who am I!" I demanded.

"Mikoto," a voice whispered from somewhere around me. My heart skipped a beat or two. Something moved in the corner of my vision. I turned to look at the thing I saw.

A shadowy specter disappeared. "Help me, Mikoto." The words echoed in depths of my mind. I felt a gloved hand wrap around my throat. My body was shoved down to the ground. My assailant had gotten the jump on me and now I was pinned to the ground.

"No!" she screamed. "You can hear her too! I won't stand for this!" Her words were that of a robotic animal roaring to the sky.

My windpipe cried for air. The protesting bolts of electricity that sparked around me failed to detract my would-be-murderer as they bounced off of her thick cloths. All I could do was stare into the strange mask as my vision started to blacken at the edges. I started turning inward.

"Mikoto, wake up."

I took in a deep breath, my airway now clear of obstruction. I was curled in the fetal position. My body was now bare of all clothing but I felt a peaceful warmth generated by a womb of electricity that surrounded me. I could see my assailant through the protective barrier a few meters away, who was now awkwardly groping the air. She shook it off, stood up, and brought her weapon to bear. Her plasma sword reignited in a blue glow.

It didn't take me more than half a second to get back to my feet. My body felt like rising smoke as I landed on the balls of my feet. We heard the powerful rotators of turning in the distance and closing fast. We were blinded by a spotlight.

A small patrol helicopter was hovering just outside the shattered windows. The red returned to my vision. I stretched out my hand and unleashed a massive storm of electricity, letting out a terrifying roar. The helicopter started smoking, the rotator sputtered and slowed. It began to wobble. The craft finally gave out. It crashed on the ground several stories below.

My opponent turned to me. She raised her blade to be, charging forward off her back foot. I lazily braced myself as the blade sparked to life. My eyes narrowed at her. The blade was brought back for a massive blow. It broke through my barrier with ease as my foe brought the weapon forward.

I didn't wince as the blade pierced my chest. I looked down at what should have been a horrifying, mortal wound highlighted by unbearable pain. Instead my chest had formed a sort of hole, like I was a disrupted hologram! My chest rose as I started to laugh. It was a cruel, mocking laugh.

The sword wielding girl looked at me then to her weapon then back to me. She rather nonchalantly withdrew the blade and started walking backwards. With a good ten meters between us she bolted out of the door, turning around the corner.

The people behind me were starting to stir as I collapsed to my knees. My eyes started to glaze over a bit. A rancid smell entered my nostrils. It was almost enough to get me up. "Misaka!" one of them shouted. That was enough to finish the job.

I felt a lab coat draped over my naked torso. A mop of pinkish hair appeared before me. It belonged to a rather pretty girl who had a rather stark look of concern on it. I reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kuroko… Shirai," I said. I think my lips managed a smile. The girl placed a hand on my arm.

"Sissy," she said in a sweet, teary voice.

"Give me a blade," I quickly asked her. Kuroko looked confused. "Please."

Her hand stumbled through a small black bag and pulled out a pocket knife. She gave it to me. I swiftly pulled out the edge and ran it across the spot from earlier. It wasn't a deep cut but enough to draw blood. My body started to quake. I started to hyperventilate.

"Sissy, what are you doing?"

I'd have probably puked if it weren't for the fact that my stomach was empty. I wiped the blood off the blade with my sleeve and gave it back to Kuroko. My body began to wobble about. There wasn't enough energy left to control it. I felt a pair of hands braced my shoulders. My head rolled back to see Ruiko Saten slightly smiling down on me. Her perky face was worn down with a few stress lines under her eyes. Her long black hair now shorter.

"Hey Misaka," she said. "Sorry about this but we're kind of on a tight schedule." She looped her arms under my armpits and lifted me up on to wobbly legs. Saten then helped me stay up by holding my shoulders. A band of flowers joined the pink mop.

What little shreds of my vision I still had were overwhelmed by a bright light. Saten batted it away. I could see again and found that Kazari Uiharu was scanning me with nervous eyes.

These three girls, I knew them. From another time and place it felt like. I could recall vague memories and feelings.

"I'm sorry but who was volunteered for team medic?" Uiharu finally stated after a moment. Her voice was shaky and strained.

"Did you not hear the whole 'tight schedule' thing?" Saten barked. The girls locked eyes with vicious stares.

"Just be gentle okay?" Uiharu desperately requested in a groan.

"No promises if Darth Goth shows up again," Saten agreed as we started towards the door. Who was she talking about? I didn't have time to think because we started leaving in a hurry.

I tried my best to walk along with Saten but my noodle-like leg strength made the minimal contribution. The four of us were walking down the hall. I could see some of the carnage left in the wake of their rescue attempt. Numerus plasma burns, oddly embedded spikes, and the occasional bullet hole gave the corridor a twisted decorum.

Even in my inebriated state I could feel the tense nerves shared by my rescuers. Kuroko was teleporting up ahead, checking the way and signaling our advance. Uiharu held up the rear.

My memories were starting to comeback. But something…someone was missing. "Lain," I whispered. She wasn't here!

Saten looked at me. "Lain?" she repeated.

"Where is Lain?" I asked.

The girl curled her lip a moment. "Lain's fine. You'll see her once we get back to base. I promise," Saten said.

Our party arrived at an elevator bank. Saten put me down against a wall while Uiharu started to take apart the buttons and replaced it with a strange devise. Saten joined Uiharu. Kuroko sat down next to me, coming in a little close for comfort.

"Is that necessary?" I asked. I leaned my head back. Kuroko moved away a bit.

"Sorry."

"Kuroko, how long have I been out?" I asked. I wasn't sure how much I wanted to know.

"About three months. It's been…kind of rough," she admitted with a bit of a sigh.

Three months? I kept myself from letting that fact from freaking me out with heavy breathing. "What's happened?" I asked.

"We've been on the run for the most part. Outside travel for students has been banned. Anti-Skill is on high alert and a number of VIPs have been coming off and on the island," Kuroko said. She leaned forward and hugged her legs.

Her last statement confused me. My memory was still foggy, but I thought the city board's policy towards outside visitors was to limit them.

"VIPs? Like who?" I asked.

"If Uiharu's information is right: a couple of heads of state and a few CEOs, including an appearance by Robert E. House himself," Kuroko said. My brow furled at the name.

"Who?"

Kuroko shrugged. "I don't know. Uiharu got all excited when she found out, going on about how he's such an 'eccentric genius' and how successful RobCo is."

The elevator dinged and the doors parted open. Saten helped me up. I could walk a little bit more. Hell I was even able to stand on my own. We hobbled inside. The elevator car was rather decadent in design; its walls were paneled with an exotic strain of granite that was bordered with a complementary gold trim. Uiharu was the last in after collecting her equipment.

The techie hit a button on her device. The doors closed and we started to go down. I watched the floor number shrink down. We were cloaked in awkward silence. "So how did you find me?" I asked.

"Dumb luck mostly," Saten stated.

Uiharu snickered through her nose. "It was more like systematic elimination of possibilities," she followed up. "I was able to monitor a few Anti-Skill security reports. We snuck in to where we thought you'd be."

"Yeah it was pretty easy until that chick with the plasma sword and mask started showing up. She has it out for Saten too. Kind-a-strange," Kuroko added.

"Crazy bitch," Saten muttered.

The elevator stopped in the basement. I was quickly escorted to a hatch that lead into the sewer. Typical. The murky trip to what was their base of operation took an hour or so through the grimy corridors.

Their base was a small alcove that was a maintenance station. A schedule was posted on wall along with a map detailing various escape routes. Everything was prepared for a quick exit. Not that there was much in the way of stuff. A med kit, a clothing box, and couple of catch all containers were the most prominent of those things. The only other large object in the alcove was a computer. It was Lain's. She built it herself.

The only real sign that someone actually lived in the alcove was a makeshift table with a chessboard on top. A game was well in progress. Actually it was deep into the endgame. But past that were a couple of futons with ragged blankets on top.

Under one of those blankets was a girl! Strength returned to me as I rushed to her side. It was Lain, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her chest barely moved enough to inform a careful observer that she was still alive. I got on my knees and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Lain, Lain. Can you hear me?" I whispered. The girl didn't stir. "It's Mikoto!"

Tears started to roll down my cheeks.

 _"Lain Unit 26: Execute subroutine: Odinsleep."_

"What did they do to you?" I asked in a low whisper.

Uiharu knelt down next to me. "I've been looking for anything to help her, but there's nothing. And now with Root limiting access to the Wired…"

"There has to be something!" I snarled. The room fell silent save for Uiharu's footsteps as she backed away from me. She expectantly looked to the other two girls.

"There may be one thing," Saten spoke up. I turned to her. She took a look at Kuroko. The pink haired girl gave a slight nod. "We find Kiyama."

I was careful not to release an electrical discharge at the sound of the name. "Please, Misaka. She's the only one who knows what's going and mostly on our side," Uiharu pleaded.

"You saw those videos. She's a monster, same as the rest," I growled.

"Now hold on that seems a bit harsh," Saten started. I whipped around, getting right in her face.

"You would defend her wouldn't you? You don't have any powers so why should you care?"

Saten stared right into my eyes. "I saw the videos. What she did was terrible. But she wants to be brought to justice. Why else would she give that drive to us?"

Anger continued to boil. Saten kept her cool. "You know, I didn't have to do this. I could have refused Uiharu's request. I didn't because I thought we are friends. I'm not defending Kiyama or her actions. All I ask is that you do what's in the best interest of Lain."

I wanted to throw Saten across the room. I wanted to beat her into the ground. All for saying that name. That woman had toyed with me, tortured Espers, and who knows what else, and now that she's gone I had to be the one to save her? There shouldn't have been a snowball's chance in hell!

But there was pang of restraint in my gut. Saten was right. Lain was my friend, and she was in danger. A thousand contradicting feelings coursed through my veins. Lain's limp comatose haunted my mind, Kiyama standing over her, and Academy City burning in the background. I finally collapsed to my knees under the pressure mounting in my chest.

Saten crouched down to my level. She grabbed my hand. "Misaka?"

 _"You should have surrendered when I gave you the chance."_

 _"The truth will only end up imprisoning you."_

Those were the words that echoed in my mind from Caiaphas and Kiyama. Both having something to do with all that had transpired. Not just what happened with me and Lain, but a slew of gross violations of humanity. They had to be brought to justice. First was fixing Lain. My feelings would have to wait until then.

I nodded as Saten pulled me up. We locked eyes. My heart calmed whilst taking a deep breath. "I'm in."

 _To Be Continued..._

* * *

A/N: If you're new, welcome. This is the sequel to The Serial Experiment, an auteur piece from me that I recommend checking out first. I really hate doing that but things are going to get weird and don't want you to fall behind as we go on.

For those following from last time, welcome back. I'm glad to see you again. Thematically speaking, TEP will focus on the relationship between Misaka and her powers. I touched on it a bit last time, but TSE was more about Misaka and Lain. The theme will revolve about something like the "meaning of the Prime Directive." For you non-Trekkers out there, the theme will focus more on "how far is too far when I have comparative god-like power over others?"

Leave a review and/or follow if you like. Every bit helps.


	2. Layer II

The following is a non-profit, fan work based off the respective works of Kazuma Kamachi and Ryūtarō Nakamura

All rights belong to the original creators, J.C. Staff Co., Ltd.; and Triangle Staff

The Bluefire Phoenix presents...

A Chapter of _The Epsilon Protocols_...

Layer II: This was Supposed to be a Safe Place

The full moon was beaming down on Academy in all its glory from the inky black sky. A salty gust blew in from the gulf, bringing with them a blanket of clouds to cover the city. Nonetheless it was nice to be outside. I had been awake for well over a week, and most of that time had been spent sneaking in the sewer looking for a new location for our base, then moving our stuff to said base. It was made harder by the addition of motion sensors and other traps. Saten and I made quick work of them though. We were set up quick and ready to hunt for Kiyama. But first there were things needing to be tended to.

That's why I was on a mission with Kuroko. Uiharu had hacked into Anti-Skill and found a supply shipment that was coming in and we needed it. We were in constant need of food and water. There was only so much anyone up top could do for us without being drawn in. Several of our classmates were basically under twenty-four hour surveillance. The easiest way around this was to simply steal what we could whenever supply was running low.

There were plenty of restaurants we could have hit, but they ran on an as-needed-basis. That meant that most of the food was locked away offsite. So that meant tangling with Anti-Skill.

We were not on the most glamorous of missions, but it needed to be done. I created a magnetic grip to climb up a building. Kuroko teleported up to the top. We were dressed in black, of course. Below was a small contingent of Anti-Skill guards were on patrol around several large canisters being unloaded from a large truck. There were eight of them, each about seven feet tall and five feet wide. They were being unloaded via a crane onto a heavy lift.

Kuroko's brow ruffled a bit. She looked at me with a worried glance. It was not what she was expecting. Or me for that matter. Either way the plan had to go through. The pink haired girl popped down below, giving a quick tap on the shoulder before teleporting across the plaza and gave him a quick wave. She then disappeared. Most of the guards gave chase. Two stayed behind for me to deal with.

I dropped down to the ground and approached. The guards turned around raised their weapons. They fired on me without so much as a word of warning. I charged up to deflect the oncoming projectiles.

My problem was I was expecting bullets. What they fired weren't bullets. They were in fact four Taser electrodes. The electrodes hit my electric field. A nasty electric storm was kicked up in the aftermath of that contact. I was barely able to shield myself. Some of my clothing was singed. The poor guards however. Well they were collapsed heaps on the ground.

A siren sounded, putting me on edge. But the source was coming from the strange canisters rather than some alert. I heard a hiss. The canisters opened up like metal curtains lifting up like part of some robotic stage.

Inside the canisters were these massive suits of armor. Intrigued, I approached. My heart filled with a certain level of dread as I gazed at them. They were steel titans with a strange helmet. Two black eyes stared down at me with cold, mechanical dispassion. A strange rebreather was attached where the mouth should be with a heavy hoses coming out of the left and right. Their massive shoulder pads had hooks for lifting up. The torsos had a special horizontal bar.

I took a step back. A chill crawled down my back as the machine's gaze bore into me. Kuroko popped back in.

"Lost them, what do we have…"

She was cut off by the sight of the armor. "I think we should go," I quietly whispered.

"What are they?" Kuroko asked. She took a step towards the suit.

I grabbed Kuroko by the arm and yanked her away. We fled back to our escape route. Once safely in the sewers, we took a deep breath. "That's not what I was expecting," she said. I nodded in agreement.

"More importantly: why does Anti-Skill have those things?" I asked.

"Power armor does seem like overkill for a city crawling with all sorts of technical goodies and superpowered children," Kuroko added. She pulled off her gloves as she started walking down the way back to base. "I mean seriously, are they expecting some kind of uprising?"

"If they are it wouldn't be too surprising that they're keeping it a secret at this point," I said. I followed her down. Uiharu mentioned something called the Epsilon Protocols. One or more of them were activated during my escape from Root Headquarters. Those protocols were probably why I wasn't able to get away. Kuroko purposed that it was a taylormade set of tactics to fight me. The plastic weapons, the rubber bullets, and the suppressor all made a good case for her position. Until we had further evidence though it was all speculation.

We arrived at our makeshift camp. Uiharu and Saten were deeply engaged in a chess match, Alice sitting on her knees to the side as the game's original spectator. Saten was shaking as sweat poured from her brow. She was running low on material pieces. Uiharu was sitting pretty with a few more piece and checkmate coming up.

Saten picked up her last remaining knight. Her hand twirled around a moment before she set it back down. Taking a deep breath, the girl smiled. "I guess this one is yours too," she sighed. Uiharu shook her head.

"Honestly Saten, after this many games: you should have won by now," Uiharu said. Saten shrugged before turning to the two of us. Her face was clearly disappointed by our lack of supplies.

"I take it things didn't go so well, huh?" Saten said. I nodded. "We'll try again tomorrow, okay?" The girl cocked her head to the side with a confused look.

"What's wrong?"

"There were these suits of...like...power armor being delivered," I said. I couldn't believe I just said that. It sounded ridiculous. But I was a girl whose arm could be considered a weapon of war when holding a quarter so it's all relative I suppose.

"Power armor?" Saten repeated. She turned to Uiharu who looked surprised.

"I don't know, maybe they are testing them against what grads can do?" Uiharu speculated.

"Yeah, but why move them to Academy City? It would be cheaper to take a bunch of Espers to the armor than vice versa," Kuroko countered.

"Let's just put this off till tomorrow, okay?" Saten requested. "So, let's just get some sleep. I'll take first watch." There was brief silence followed by everyone nodding. We had some time to figure out why they were here. I curled up in my makeshift cot near Lain. My mind began to drift into the realm of dreams, despite some nervousness on my part.

That feeling was justified as I was once again plagued by a nightmare that had followed me since I was freed. I was in a white chamber, not unlike the place I had met Avri. Lay before me was a sleeping Lain. Everything about her was at peace. It all seemed so soothing really.

But the feeling evaporated as a growing black storm formed on the other side of her. It rushed forward like the legions of hell to swarm all around me. I could feel anger and frustration from some distant place eat at my skin. Whispered curses lashed at me yet I couldn't really understand them. There was nothing I could do ease the pain I felt chew at my body and soul.

I was only released from that horrid existence by a gentle nudge. Uiharu was standing over me. She looked concerned. Probably a reasonable response considering the wretched cold sweat I felt encasing my body. She offered me a hand. I grasped it and was lifted up. "Are you going to be alright?" she asked.

I nodded. "Just a bad dream," I answered. I walked over to the perch we used to watch for anything that might endanger us. My shift was last.

The time seemed to fly. About an hour in, something caught my eye. Alice had taken a seat next to me. She was looking at the palm of her hand.

"This was supposed to be a safe place, you know?" she whispered in an almost ethereal tone.

"Yeah," I rather cautiously agreed. I kind of narrowed my eyes at her a bit. I hadn't been back for that long, and this was the first time Alice talked to me without the others around. "That's what my parents told me. When I was a little and living on the mainland, there was new kid in my class. She always looked sad but whenever anyone asked her what was wrong she'd just brush it off." Alice's posture was relaxed, eyes glazed and distant. Her feet began to dance a bit.

"Then one day, I accidently grabbed her hand and I saw what had happened to her. I told my mom and the next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Texas. The last thing she said to me was that I was going to be safe here," she continued. Her head slouched back, head rolling over to look at me. There was a vacant expression on her face that sent the hairs on the back of my neck crawling. "Now look at us. On the run from the very people who claim to protect us after learning the horrors they secretly inflict upon us."

Alice started to rather maniacally snicker. It never reached full on laughter but stopped just short of breaking down into sobbing. The girl just faded out while curling into a ball.

"I'm sorry Alice. I didn't mean for this to happen to any of us," I said. It was weak and we all knew it, but what else could I have done? Alice shook her head.

"Whatever future I might have had, even on this rock, was lost when Lain entered my homeroom class for the first time," she explain. She uncurled a bit and crawled over to me with an strangely cat-like gait. Alice shoved her face into mine. I could see tears building just under the surface of her eyes. "You see, I fell in love that day."

My eyes blinked a couple of times. "Look I'm fine with that, really. But it isn't like that...between...us," I rather awkwardly stammered out. Alice simply smiled at me and shook her head. She then locked eyes with me.

"It doesn't matter now. You are Mikoto Misaka. You'll move Heaven and Earth for Lain, whatever your relationship. I am Alice Mizuki. How can I compare to you, whatever I feel?" she mournfully whispered.

"Alice, if you...please I didn't mean to-"

The girl put a finger to my lips. She shook her head. "Even if you didn't meet Lain, we could never be. I'm not stupid, Misaka. It didn't take me long for me to figure out that she isn't like the rest of us, whatever that means here," she said.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, somewhat nervously. I saw the glimmer of tears form in Alice's eyes. Some drops rolled down her cheeks and splattered onto to the ground and hands.

"I've been keeping it in for months, and I can't take it anymore. I was locked away and told my feelings were delusions," Alice let out between sobs. She regained some control and returned her attention to me. I gently grabbed her hand. "I wanted to tell you because you are way closer to Lain than I ever can be. Keep her safe for me. Please."

I nodded my head. "Don't worry Alice, I will."

Alice smiled a bit then slipped her hand out from under mine. She retreated back to her sleeping bag. I remained at my station until breakfast. It was a rather quiet affair. We were going to have to start rationing if we didn't get anything tonight.

Uiharu was back on our computer. She was very much in the zone. I was hovering over Lain. A strange buzzing, like a whisper in a blizzard, filled my ears when I did this. I constantly strained to hear the words. Nothing was ever made out but I kept at it.

"No freaking way," Uiharu chimed. I turned around. She motioned for me to join her. I sat down by her and looked at the screen. Uiharu had pulled up a video clip from a security camera. It was paused on a picture of Kiyama being escorted through a security checkpoint. Behind her was that Anti-Skill hatchetman, Persephone.

Uiharu hit the play button. The two women started walking more into the frame before a moment of static. It cleared of any trace of the women. "Where did this come from?" I asked.

"The video itself was flagged by an Avri a couple of days ago. The flag was then passed up the system all the way to a Root tech. He wrote an email to his boss since he couldn't find a reason for this…glitch. Where the camera actually is…I'm going to start looking through the directory. Fortunately the Root tech gave us the Unit designation, so it won't take me long to find it," she said. "What should we do when I get it?"

"We should talk this out as a group," I said. Uiharu and I quickly rallied everyone together. We rewatched the video.

Kuroko started to chew her lip. Saten scratched the back of her head. Alice looked like she was about to flip out.

"What are you thinking Sissy?" Kuroko asked. I rubbed my lips a little bit. It was risky, but my gut knew Kiyama could help Lain. But this had all the hallmarks of a trap.

I didn't want to unnecessarily risk anyone. "I'm going to get her out," I quietly answered.

"No!" Alice screamed. Everyone turned to her. Alice's eyes were wide. She had brought her teeth to bear. Her chest heaved up and down, letting wave after wave of anger seethe from her lips. "We can't. Not after everything she's done to us!"

Saten nodded in agreement. "It's too risky as it is," she added.

Kuroko looked at Uiharu. "Do we know where she's being held?" she asked. Uiharu nodded and pulled up a window on her machine.

"The incident happened in Red Hall," Uiharu said in a somewhat dejected tone. I agreed with that sentiment.

"Oh, hell no," Saten said. She crossed her arms over her chest. "We might as well walk up to an Anti-Skill officer in the street and ask to be arrested. That should save us some time."

Back before Academy City was built, Red Hall was the dormitory for the support staff on the island. Now it was the main apartment building for most of the teachers. Which meant now it might as well be Anti-Skill's second base. I was more sure than ever that this was a trap.

"Now hang on, we've been hitting Anti-Skill for a while. I think we can do it," Kuroko pointed out.

"I actually agree with Saten on this one, Kuroko. There _is_ a difference between attacking an isolated group of officers and attacking the place they live," Uiharu said.

The group fell into a heated argument. Voices we raised and tempers flared. I used the growing rhetorical storm as cover to slip away. I was tired of this whole existence. The powers that be were certainly conspiring against us, thinking that they could keep us down forever. It was time for them to know that there were forces in this world they couldn't control.

I reached an access point that led up to District One. Now was the time. I climbed up and left the sewer, greeted by an overcast morning. The grey sky looked so beautiful. Ominous thunder in the distance seem vindicate my decision.

District One wasn't as bustling as it usually was, seeing as most of the residents were already at work in the city proper. The industrial pragmatism of the district's architecture felt more ominous than ever. The stoic grey buildings bore down with palpable sense of oppression. Even the air felt choking to breathe.

Red Hall was near the border of the district. I stepped out onto the street and kept my head down. My hair fell over my face. I stuffed my hands into my pockets.

My trip to Red Hall was unmolested. The few people that saw me stayed away. I wasn't sure why. Hopefully it was the aura of anger I tried to project.

Red Hall was probably far cry from what it originally was. It was a giant, thirty story building. The front looked more like the entrance to a fancy hotel than an apartment complex. The only sign of protection for the place was a couple of Anti-Skill officers who looked like they were freshly on duty.

The officers approached me. "Excuse me, Miss. Are you lost?" one of the officers asked. We were about ten meters apart. They were still walking towards me. My fists clenched. Sparks began to fly around my body. The heat felt rather refreshing.

I focused my concentration onto the officers. My electricity engulfed the, send volts and volts through their bodies. Not enough to kill them. But they would be unconscious for a while.

I drifted past them without a glance back and entered the lobby. It was a fairly decorative place. There was a myriad of colors inside that stood in contrast with drab exterior. The few people inside started to back away from the storm around me.

A massive flurry erupted, silencing the lighting in the room. Screams of panic cried out and I felt a rush of people pass by me. The fear was flushed out with them. I stretched out with my power. I was able to detect the computer inside the office.

Hacking wasn't my domain, but I had one trick up my sleeve that even Uiharu couldn't match. I entered the office and barred the door. I placed my hand on the monitor. My mind began to clear. A gentle flow of electricity passed through the monitor. It followed the path of the wiring inside. The river came to a head at the HDMI cable that connected the monitor to the computer. It poured down the cable into the console below.

With each drop entering the CPU, the world around me began to break away. A new world attempted to rise out of the rubble. My will forced the new world into focus, allowing me to step into a digital world.

My mind rationalized billions of shifting ones and zeros into a cathedral. My vision was overlayed with some sort of black and white filter. The world stabilized and I walked out the main door into a sort of nineteen-twenties city scape. My assessment was boosted away by the dress of the few people on the sidewalks and the models of cars parked in the street.

I refocused my mind. I needed to find the Avri for the area. It would have to be around here right? I began wandering the street looking for it. My search had to be cautious though. Last time I encountered an Avri, I ended up meeting the _entirety_ of Avri. Which probably explains why Anti-Skill found me last time, as having the program you have monitoring your network focus in on one spot is probably a dead giveaway.

This time, I just needed to get a little information out of it. That was part of the Avri Units' job so it shouldn't be too hard. And Lain wasn't here to trip them up. I felt pretty good about the situation actually.

The unit was only half a block down. It was running the front of a radio shop called Sonnie's. It looked the same way it did last time, a young woman in a black school uniform and odd long hair. The program moved from radio to radio in the shop, carefully listening to what was being said. The noise sounded like useless static to me. The Avri got something out of the jumble of noise because it would nod its head and mark something on a clipboard.

I cleared my throat. The Avri stopped its work and looked up to me. The program retained its familiar blank expression. Though I swear there was a glimmer of recognition in its "eyes."

"We remember this one," the Avri said in a dry monotone. That made me take a step back. I wasn't surprised that it did remember me per say. More by how bluntly it said it. "Can this we be of assistance?"

I nodded. "This one understands that this unit flagged some security footage a few days ago," I said. I tried my best to mimic the Avri Unit's speaking style. From my last encounter it didn't seem to matter. What I was hoping was that it would look like two Avri Units were talking as to not draw the attention of other units or Root.

"Yes we sent such a flag. No feedback has been received to resolve what happened. This unit has only received instructions not to throw any similar flags until that one is resolved," the unit responded.

"How many of those type of flags does this one have left to process?" I asked.

"Two more."

"May I see them?"

The Avri actually looked like it was nervous. Its eyes shifted around and it shuffled a bit. "We cannot share those records with you, We will send this request up the chain," it said. The program started towards a telephone tucked away in the corner.

I grabbed the program's "wrist." With a single yank of my arm, I forced it to turn around. I placed my hand on its "head." Power surged forth from my fingers into the program. For a flickering moment there was something like fear on its face. My lips curled up into my mouth for the duration of that look. I finally released the program and took a step back.

It handed me the clipboard in its hands. I grabbed it and quickly went through the pages until I found what I was looking for. I pulled out the sheet of paper and started to back away. The Avri looked rather confused at the whole situation. I finally bolted through the door all the way to the cathedral. The world began to crumble around me as I got closer to the alter.

My eyes opened. My body was pressed face first on the ground. A massive gulp of oxygen felt life saving I pushed myself off the ground and dusted off my clothes. If the Avri's information was correct, Kiyama was on the sixteenth floor. I scrounged around the office for a moment to collect whatever bits of small metal there was. A few coins and some paper clips were around.

With those filling my pockets, I unblocked the door and grabbed hold of the handle. I took a deep breath.

To Be Continued...

* * *

A/N: You've probably noticed that my output has been slowed as of late. I apologize for that. With school starting up and my news addiction kicked into high gear thanks to the elections here in America heating up (#AnyoneButTrump), my writing time has become limited as of late. Plus I've started moving my stuff onto Google Drive, so some of my drafts have gotten mixed up in the shuffle. The rest of this is just me discussing themes and story crafting, so if you're not interested in that, leave a review and I'll see you next time.

There are a couple things I'd like to talk about this order starting with what happened at the end of the chapter and working my way up. I tried to portray what Misaka did somewhat ambiguous from a moral/philosophical view. Your opinion will probably be driven by how you feel about AI and if the Avri Units count as one.

Next is Alice. One of the things that irked me about TSE was that I didn't have time to really develop her. I'm working on fleshing her out a little more here and there through the rest of the series.

Please leave a review and follow, thanks!


	3. Layer III

The following is a non-profit, fan work based off the respective works of Kazuma Kamachi and Ryūtarō Nakamura

All rights belong to the original creators, J.C. Staff Co., Ltd.; and Triangle Staff

The Bluefire Phoenix presents...

A Chapter of _The Epsilon Protocols_...

Layer III: Risk/Reward Ratio

I burst through the door to find a group of about ten Anti-Skill officers. Their weapons were drawn, sights aimed at me. A quick magnetic pulse revealed that those fools were equipped with actual ammo. They didn't hesitate to unload their clips. Several dozen led bullets were bearing down on me.

My hand instinctively rose. An incredibly powerful magnetic field formed around me sending up a plethora of small metal objects. I forced the objects into a reinforced wall of sorts. The bullets merely pinged against my protection. The lead slugs dropped to the floor and harmlessly rolled away. The Anti-Skill officers stopped. Their faces were pretty terrified. I let the wall fall down, allowing me to advance on the stunned officers.

Another magnetic pulse revealed several steel beams or pipes built into the ceiling. A quick flick of my of my wrist ripped six or seven beam from their hiding place in the roof. They crushed the Anti-Skill officers, pinning them to the ground in a thunderous grip. Sparks flew up a bit as the copper wiring was forced from its hiding. I let them ride the field projected around my body.

I stepped around the downed officers and went to the elevators. They appeared powered down. Not really a problem. It took nary a thought to force open the doors. I then merely laid my hands on the panel inside. Not to power it up. Instead I used magnetism to lift the car up to my destination, the sixteenth floor.

The car rose up the shaft. It was a kind of a slow ride. I could hear the occasional clip of metal striking metal. It was annoying, but I eventually made it to the floor in question. I parted the doors and stepped into the hall. It was a rather plain place. Simple patterned wallpaper and cheap carpets.

The elevator hung for a moment before the magnetism wore off. It crashed down to the ground in thunderous calamity. I continued forward, eyes peering left to right. I also released a series of magnetic waves to allow me to see around corners. Kiyama was here somewhere. I just needed to find the right…

My heart nearly stopped right then and there. I felt something. It was large and hidden around the corner on my left. I don't know why I felt this...fear. What was there for me to fear anymore?

I was forced to bury those feelings for now. I came around the corner only to kicked to the ground. A familiar feeling crept over my body. It was a creeping crawl over my skin that sent a cooling feeling down to my spine.

That feeling sent me face first into the floor. I'd been here before and it was just as unpleasant as last time. It felt fitting that Kiyama's own damn invention was keeping me from rescuing her. I'm sure the doctor would find the whole thing highly amusing in her own way.

A massive thud in front of me signaled something not entirely pleasant was coming for me. The sound of hydraulics and scrapping metals sent my nerves into overdrive. "I was wondering if you were going to show up, Ms. Misaka. However I'm afraid that you aren't going to be getting Kiyama today," a voice filtered through some kind of electric loud speaker. Even behind the masking, I recognized it.

It belonged to Persephone, chief lackey of the architect of the darker aspects of Academy City: Caiaphas. Just the thought of that woman pumped unadulterated rage into my blood. I formed a repulsive field to cancel out the one keeping me down.

Persephone had apparently donned one of the suits of power armor I had run into earlier. Mounted on its back was a smaller version of the twisted orb contraption that could stun me with disturbing ease. She was wielding some kind of shotgun. I could feel my body waver under the field.

The woman approached me. I tried to keep standing up but I couldn't get a grip on the magnetic field. Unlike the static one at Kiyama's office: this one shifted constantly. It was enough to give me a headache. My knee finally bent to the approaching woman, my arms fought to keep me from totally buckling over. I needed to figure out something to escape. Something inside started to fester as the room shook a little with each of Persephone's steps towards me.

A spasm of pain ripped over my shoulder. I'd been hit by a bean bag and sent onto my back. My eyes squinted as they gazed up at the light. Nothing responded to me. A silhouette appeared over me.

"Lain?" I groaned. The shadow disappeared. She was what made me Level Six? Wasn't _I_ better than this? How could I be rendered so helpless my such pathetic technology? Such a pathetic human?

My fingers clawed at the cheap carpet. My toes curled with a twitch of my leg. I would not suffer this pathetic woman any longer! Every nerve inside of me cried out in rage. I felt my body rise up off the ground, repelled by intense electromagnetic forces.

The armor clad woman took a few steps back, clearly trying to figure out what was going wrong with her equipment. A flick of my wrist solved that by crushing the damned mechanism. That sent a second wind into my body, allowing me to breathe with ease.

Persephone pumped her shotgun and aimed it. I merely forced the suit's arms up, forcing her to aim at the ceiling instead. "You won't stop me."

I threw the armored woman through the nearest wall. "No one will stop me."

A strange mist fell over the scene. A hundred thousand voices started whispering in my ear. Questions and concerns, all of them about what was happening here. I could see dozens of people walking around me, but I never lost sight of Persephone. The walls began to warp into odd, bent shapes and angles. The hallways became an incoherent maze of drywall and paint..

The abuse began to roll out. She was a tin can and I a steel toed _boot_. A single thought was all it took for her to go flying all across the floor of the hotel. I could hear the anguished grunts of pain as walls collapsed, pipes burst, glass shattered. Her armor got a little more scuffed and dented.

Was I enjoying myself? I couldn't tell. Part of me yearned to stop but the other part didn't. It wanted the woman to pay for simply being associated with Caiaphas and her disgusting work. Every grunt and scream my assaults elicited was like taking a hit of the most intoxicating drug.

Finally her helmet popped off, revealing a battered and bruised face. I could see the fear in her eyes. Yet I felt nothing in return outside of a primal urge to destroy. To that end, I picked up a small metal nut that had shaken loose during my rampage. It was light and sturdy. Perfect for the experiment that I wished to conduct.

I stretched out my right arm, the nut set atop my thumb and index finger. A calming breath steadied my shot, aiming right for her chest. Persephone tried to scramble away, but her legs were too damaged to help her.

A hand reached out and grabbed my arm. I looked to my right. Kiyama was the offender. Her tired eyes glared into me with authority. But I could see a hint of fear underneath that so called confidence. "Enough Railgun," she hissed. "She isn't why you're here."

Everything fell back into focus. I could see the destruction that my tantrum had caused. My eyes drifted to my hand. I realized what I had intended to do.

The nut fell to the ground. Had I really attempted _that_ of all things? But even then I still wanted to do it! Damn it! I starting to slip and everyone would soon know. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"You should be more sorry you're still on this damn island. But that's immaterial for now. I assume you lack a plan to get out of here?" Kiyama pointed out.

I chewed my lips a moment. "Not really," I admitted.

Kiyama nodded. "Figured as much," she grumbled. She then looked up at ceiling. "But I think I can help."

We went up to the roof. A couple of helicopters were circling the building. Kiyama prevented me from shooting them down. Instead I forced down the large antenna on the building and moved it into position as a ladder to walk over to a nearby building. The helicopters kept their distance, watching us but not interfering. I could feel the frantic radio conversation going on between the choppers and a nearby building.

It took a lot of effort to push those thoughts aside for the time being. The climb over wasn't easy. Vertigo choked me a couple of times and Kiyama wasn't doing much better. She was practically clawing her way across. When my feet hit the stone roof, it was the most ingratiating moments I'd ever had.

"So where are you and your little friends hiding?" Kiyama asked as we approached the door to enter the new building. I ripped it off with a flick of my wrist.

"What if I'm working alone?" I countered.

"Please, I heard that you got iced. Even you'd have trouble getting out of that without outside help. Given that I was still locked up, it'd have to be your friends," Kiyama pointed out as we started down the stairs. "So where are they?"

"We've been hiding in the sewers," I answered.

"Great," Kiyama muttered. She shoved her hands into her pocket.

"Well considering how watched the surface is, it's the best we can do at the moment," I scoffed.

"Whatever, surviving is all that matters now," she replied as we entered the top floor. This was an office building of some sort. It appeared freshly abandoned. We made it to the elevators. They were powered down to no one's amazement.

I summoned one up. "So are you going to lecture me? About what happened."

"Not really my style," Kiyama stated. The elevator arrived and we boarded. "All I can say is that you're on a dangerous path. As a level five your mental state was remarkable. But now, I can't be sure it'll last."

"Is there...anything...that...that I can do. I don't want to...murder anyone," I whispered.

Kiyama shrugged. "Listen Railgun people like me and Persephone, we're now _your_ playthings. In time our very bodies and minds will be yours to toy with. Killing us, well it doesn't even matter now."

I turned to the doctor and grabbed her collar. "It matters to me! I am not a killer. I'm not a killer," I ended with a whisper. Kiyama grabbed my hands and gently removed them from her person.

"You know, when I first started this job I thought we'd save the world through our work. Morality be damned," Kiyama huffed. "But look at you: a being for whom human morality is now totally irrelevant but who's trying desperately to cling onto it. I envy you, Railgun, more than you can possibly understand."

I slowed the elevator for a final descent. "Pft," I sputtered as we came to a stop. "I doubt you'd say that if you had what I've got."

Kiyama shook her head in disdain. "It's not about your powers," she corrected. Her gaze turned upward. "It's the fact that when the time comes for you to make the decision that will truly determine the rest of your life, you'll make the right one. I think anyway." A small, almost human smile crawled onto her face.

My eyes narrowed in skepticism at her as I opened up an entryway to the sewers. I stopped for a second to seal the door back on. "Do you really believe that?" I asked.

Kiyama shrugged. "I don't have much of a choice. If I didn't believe that, then I could only see you as a monster of my own creation."

I stopped. "Your own creation?" I asked.

The doctor nodded. "I was the one who released Lain, right. She was supposed to be picked up by Anti-Skill and deported before Caiaphas could do anything. But you found her instead," she admitted. "Fate's intervention, perhaps."

She walked on, leaving me behind a moment. I joined her, leading her to our little base. Just about everyone took a step back. Uiharu nervously scratched her head. Saten crossed her arms. Kuroko gave me a nervous glance. But Alice, Alice stormed up to the doctor. The rage in her eyes could've burned down the world ten times.

Kiyama looked down her nose at the girl. "Hello Alice," she greeted.

"What...are you...doing here?" Alice demanded.

"I'm here to help Lain," Kiyama stated.

Alice reeled back her fist and delivered a blow to the woman's jaw. It was an impotent attack, barely forcing Kiyama's head to turn a bit. "No!" Alice screamed. "We don't want your help!"

"Alice, please. She's the only one who can help Lain," I pleaded.

"She won't. She'll drug us and try to wipe away our memories like last time. She's a monster. She can't help!" Alice decreed. Her voice could be heard echoing down the sewers. Alice collapsed to her knees, cupping her face with her hands. She began to sob.

I knelt down next to her. "Remember what you requested of me, last night? I'll fulfill it on my life, but this is the only way for me to do so. It pains me as it does you but it's the only option left to us," I whispered in her ear. Alice hugged me. I returned the embrace for a moment, then stood up and turned to the doctor. She'd moved over to Lain.

Her face was struggling to find an emotional state. It went through an array of expressions, curling up and down, left and right several times over. "She looks...so human, doesn't she?" she finally said.

I looked at Lain. Kiyama was right. She appeared as human as the rest of us. Given a very superficial definition of human of course. "Can you fix her?" I asked. I felt my hand twitched with anticipation of the answer. The doctor turned to me, giving me a slight nod.

"It should be possible," she said. Her attention was further drawn to Uiharu. "Do you have a med kit?"

Uiharu nodded and delivered it to the doctor. Kiyama popped it open and tossed aside several of the top items without a care. She stopped at an empty syringe. It only took her a moment to prepare it. She turned to me and grabbed my face with her free hand. "Hold still Railgun," she said. She then yanked down my left lower eyelid. The doctor lowered the syringe to the newly exposed flesh.

A strange blue fluid began to fill up the syringe. I tried to keep my body from trembling. Kiyama finished her odd procedure. She tapped the syringe a couple of times. My lips released a nervous sigh. The doctor turned back to the medkit and pulled out some chemicals.

"This was one of the first things we discovered. The continued use of Esper powers produces a sort of...poison would be the best term, in the brain," Kiyama stated as she mixed some chemicals. "Fortunately it doesn't kill in low dosages. Nose bleeding and mild headaches if it spikes up such as a level up. It can render one comatose with any larger increase."

Satan folded her arms across her chest. Alice paced around in the shadows. Uiharu chewed on her lip

"What? Why has no one told us about it?" Kuroko shouted. Kiyama shook her head.

"We didn't want to cause unnecessary panic," she said. She poured the chemical into the syringe. Her gaze landed on the steel needle. "As I said it's harmless and no Esper ever had the power to produce a dangerous amount. All except one." Her eyes looked at Lain.

"Her brain is part computer. By inserting a few commands we were able to force what amounts to her subconscious to create what is essentially a feedback loop that produces the substance until her brain loses consciousness."

A nostalgic smile appeared on Kiyama's face. "Of all the failsafes I designed, that was probably my best," she added.

"Told you, she's nothing but a monster," Alice spat from the shadows. Her predatory eyes watched the doctor ever so carefully. Kiyama rolled her eyes at the girl's comment.

"Call me what you will, I wasn't willing to bring a god into this world without an insurance policy," she retorted.

"Lain isn't a god," I growled.

"Don't be naive, Railgun. You saw what she can do with Reality Shift when she's just...born, for lack of a better term. In full control, she might as well be god," Kiyama shot back. She began to mix the strange chemical compound in with the contents of the syringe. "Now hike up her shirt. This has to go right into the heart."

Uiharu and I did so for the doctor. Kiyama knelt down. There was something in the way the doctor's hands hovered over the girl's body. It was as if she were trying to keep the most amount of distance from it. An accidental brush while she was applying some rubbing alcohol to the injection site was enough send her hand recoiling back. Not so much so as to be dramatic about it. But it was noticeable to the discerning eye.

Kiyama retracted her lips a moment. "Alright Lain, come back to us," she whispered as she plunged in the syringe. The chemical mixture was plunged into her body. Lain's breathing became louder and more rapid. The doctor took out the needle from Lain's chest.

Lain's eyes started to blink. The rapid movement was made more awkward when she started to thrash around. She shot up in a heaving mess. Her eyes moved side to side, fear and uncertainty dominating them. I wrapped my arms around the girl.

"Mikoto Misaka," she whispered in my ear. Her head collapsed into my shoulder. Time started to slow down. I looked up to find a dozen or so Lains standing around the room. They were analyzing everything.

"Stop Lain!" I tried to shout. I'm not sure if I actually said anything.

A massive breath from Lain returned things to normal. Uiharu turned her head every which way. Alice had rushed to Lain's side. Saten ran her fingers through her hair. Kuroko went to the computer.

Lain looked over to Alice. She smiled a bit. "Alice, are we going to be late for homeroom today?" she whispered. Alice started to tear up.

"Do you remember anything?" I asked. Lain turned back to me.

"Anger, rage, you," she answered. "Where's Kiyama?" The doctor had vanished. Lain locked eyes with me. Despite their almost dead appearance, they were alive with something underneath.

"I want to see her," Lain demanded. Alice shot me a nervous glance. I nodded.

I frowned at her words. "Come on, that can wait. You need to rest," I insisted.

"Alright," I finally conceded. Alice and I helped Lain up, wrapping her arms around our shoulders. We started to walk around in search of the doctor. Lain kept her head bowed for most of the hunt. Her feet started pick up. She started to pull her weight a bit more.

Kiyama wasn't far from our camp. She was watching the water flow by. Lain got off of Alice and me, moving towards the doctor. Kiyama turned to the girl. Her eyes were loaded with anxiety. Though her sly smile was trying desperately to hide that fact.

"Hello, Lain."

 _To Be Continued..._

* * *

A/N: I'm back. Been busy with school. I'm coming up to crunch time so my output might be lower. So not dead is the moral here.

Now that our cast is all together again, we can kick this into overdrive.


	4. Layer IV

The following is a non-profit, fan work based off the respective works of Kazuma Kamachi and Ryūtarō Nakamura

All rights belong to the original creators, J.C. Staff Co., Ltd.; and Triangle Staff

The Bluefire Phoenix presents...

A Chapter of _The Epsilon Protocols_...

Layer IV: After a Mission is the Most Dangerous

Kiyama's worn down eyes struggled to keep from betraying her true emotion. Her thumbs traced over the tips of her fingers over and over again. I could see her resist licking her lips. She had started to breath more slowly as of late. Even her hair was on edge with a few strands of the wavy locks slowly straightening out.

Lain was now standing on her own now. She was dressed in a grey shirt that covered her body. Her dead eyes gazed up at Kiyama. I could see her hair start to stand on edge. The girl kept her face entirely blank. Lain's hands had formed fists, obscured somewhat by the cuffs of her shirt.

Alice had retreated back a bit. She covered herself in shadow away from the main action. Her eyes were mixed with fear and anticipation. She'd clutched her hands over her heart. There was a disturbingly sadistic look to her lips.

The doctor's greeting still seemed to hang in the air around us. I saw Lain's lips twitch just slightly. Kiyama's face shot up with pain; her right leg gave out in a painfully awkward fashion, forcing her to take a knee. The girl twitched again, this time with most of her head. This time the doctor let out a grunt of pain. She buckled over onto her hands and knees before Lain. Blood started to drip from the lips prostrated woman. The red ooze slowly clamored down to the sewer's main way.

Lain walked over to the humbled woman. The pads of her bare feet barely made a sound. Despite her short stature, Lain was able to tower over the doctor. Kiyama struggled to look up at Lain. "So will you be the one to pass judgment on me?" she weakly asked. "Well if anyone here does it's you." She was lurched up off of her hands. Despite the mask of bravado from earlier, she was very much afraid.

I could see the doctor's eyes. They gazed upon Lain with a sense of awesome that harkened back to the original meaning of the term. Her face was resigned, awash with defeat and the price that it demanded.

"You are a despicable woman, Harumi Kiyama," Lain spat. Her voice was steeled with anger. Lain cupped her right fist in her left hand just above her chest. True, unabated contempt skewered into Kiyama's face from the girl's eyes. Kiyama didn't react to it, though why remained unclear. I suspect it was fear of further assaults.

"I know Lain and—"

The woman's plea was cut off as she was forced back into submission. Her hands smacked the concrete so hard that the echo rang for a few extra seconds. Even Alice flinched in pain at the sound.

"I remember everything you did to my sisters, and to my friends, and to me! Now tell me what you have to say for yourself!" Lain shouted. I took a step away from Lain.

The doctor pressed her forehead into the ground. "I never meant for this to happen, Lain. I wanted to get you away from here. Yes I hurt just about everyone you know. I've done uncountable terrible things to men, women, and...children. Those things will haunt me to until the end of my days," Kiyama confessed. It was hard to tell if she was sobbing or not. If she was, I couldn't imagine who they were for.

Kiyama's confession had finally stopped. "So Lain, will you judge me?" the doctor asked in a whisper.

I saw a Lain clone emerge from the shadows behind Kiyama. It stooped down and began wrap its hands around the woman's face. The fingers moved down to her throat like a giant spider landing on its helpless prey. There was no remorse in the clone's eyes.

The doctor could feel what was about to happen. She relaxed her shoulders and closed her eyes. No prayers were offered nor pleads for mercy. Nothing but silent acceptance for Kiyama.

My heart twinged at the sight. I shot my hand to Lain's shoulder, landing squarely on the slender target. "Don't do it Lain!" I shouted. Lain turned to me. Her dead eyes burned with living passion.

"Why not? What has she done to deserve our mercy?" Lain barked. I kept calm, slowly removing my hand from her shoulder. "Well?" Her lips were twitching. Her hair was starting to stick out a bit even more.

"Because it is not our place," I answered. I saw the Lain clone rush towards me with a cocked back fist. It missed me by only a couple centimeters. A small explosion erupted behind me, leaving a small crater on the wall in its wake. Alice walked over to the crater. She ran her hand over the stone's new wound, plenty of impressive cracks splitting the stone. Her eyes switched their gaze between Lain and the hole. Each move brought more and more horror to her.

Even Kiyama looked amazed at the sight. She slouched back, bracing herself with her arms. I swear I heard her whisper "What did we do?"

Lain's face struggled to find and hold the correct expression to display her rising rage. "Not our place? We're the victims Mikoto!" Lain shouted. A strange wind began blow around us as Lain's fist clenched. I nodded my head at a placating speed.

"Yes we are, but _they_ have a system in place to punish her. She will get justice," I pointed out. The wind died down.

"She could escape! How many like her have escaped before? Dozens, hundreds? I won't let this one worm away so easily," Lain barked.

"Perhaps, and if she does she'll still have to live with her crimes. Killing her will do nothing more than prove that we are a threat to them. Everything that Kiyama did will be hailed as pioneering and she will become a martyr for a cause she wants nothing to do with," I responded with as much diplomatic decorum as I could muster. "We're not gods Lain. We can't pretend otherwise, even if it means risking a trial. That's all I can promise."

I could hear Kiyama's breaths become sharper and less frequent. Her fingernails were digging into the concrete floor, dulling them down to ugly nubs. Streaks of sweat started to run down her hair. Alice was looking around, eyes alight with anticipation. Her lips were curled into her mouth which were gently chewing.

Another explosion rocked the chamber. Bits of dust and rubble fell to the ground. The new hole was just above Alice's head. Alice had crumpled down to her knees and covered the back of her neck. The debris bounced around her.

"I'm trusting you, Mikoto," Lain hissed. She turned about, pulling a small storm out of the area with her. Alice gave me a nervous parting glance and followed after Lain.

Kiyama spent another half a minute sitting hunched over. She'd calmed down a bit. I walked over to the doctor. My thumb ran over my fingertips before I offered my hand to Kiyama. It made me...uneasy to do so. Was the doctor worth the effort? I wasn't sure. But I'd made the effort to spare her from Lain's wrath.

The doctor looked up at the hand. She hesitated only a moment but finally grabbed it, weakly squeezing it. Kiyama smiled at me. It was about as dead a smile as one could give, made more so by the slow trail of blood rolling down from the edge of her lips. "Perhaps you should reconsider your proclamation of not being a god. You've saved me twice today," she said once back on her feet.

"Don't even joke about that," I grumbled.

"I'm not."

I let out a sigh. "Sometimes I wish I never decided to become level five, you know?"

Kiyama shook her head. "Don't dwell on past decisions, Railgun. Such speculation will only consume you in the end," she said. She squeezed my shoulder and walked back to the main room. Her words didn't stick because my thoughts went back to the day I dedicated my life to being the best I could be.

It was...third grade. My teacher was explaining the history of Espers to us. The tale was toned down, but the stories of persecution and fear that erupted in the wake of the discovery of the Esper phenomenon still made most of us scared. Most of my class missed out on that, being discovered in the early days of Academy City. Those lessons made many of my classmates scared of the outside world.

Not me. I wanted nothing more than to show the outside world they had nothing to fear. I would go out as the most powerful Esper ever and prove them wrong about us. I would be a hero to all, not by saving the world but by example. Just because I had these powers didn't make me any different than a normal person.

But now the seeds of doubt started to stir. I saw a small teenage girl freshly awakened from a coma nearly murder a grown woman with nothing more than her mind and a will that had no qualms about doing so. _I_ had just toyed with some expensive military hardware for the hell of it.

Those people on the outside, they had every reason to fear us; and I _hated_ that. I wasn't looking for their adoration mind you. Just their respect. It would be impossible after what's just happened.

My elbow started to itch, pulling me out my retrospective analysis. I mindless sent my left hand to deal with it as I started back. As my fingers started to curl, I wasn't getting any feedback.

I looked down to see what was happening. It turned out that my fingers were inside my elbow. Literally poking through the skin like it was a hologram or something. I poked it a few times to similar results. The last poke failed to go through.

Everything started to shake around me. Something flashed in front of me. I strained hard to see what it was. A figure, with long brown hair was standing. It was that of a girl, frowning at me. Avri?

The cold ground beneath me beckoned. I collapsed to my knees. "Avri?" I whispered. "I'm sorry!"

Tears dripped to the ground. What the hell was going on in my head? Was I finally slipping into mental disease? I prayed that it wasn't so. If I snapped and did something to my friends!

"Misaka?" a voice asked. I looked up to see Saten peering down at me with a concerned look in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

I nodded my lie with sincerity. "Yeah, I think...think so," I answered. My eyes locked with hers. "Saten, do you...hate me?"

That question caused Saten to step back. I stood up in her momentary confusion. "What kind of question is that?" she asked. I shook my head.

"My powers, do you hate them?" I rephrased the question, a strange desperation gripped my voice in the process. Now Saten's brow scrunched together. Her lips rocked right to left as the words were processed in her head.

"I um…n…ye…I don't know. Sometimes. I see and hear things that make me terrified. But at the same time we're friends. I know you wouldn't hurt me or anyone," Saten answered. She smiled a little nervously. I nodded a bit.

"Sometimes I wish I could be you. Then none of this would've happened," I admitted.

"Yeah, but then Caiaphas and Kiyama couldn't ever be brought to justice. Our current situation may suck, but we know the truth now," Saten pointed out. "And that has to count for something right?"

 _In this city the truth will only end up imprisoning you._

I remember those words from what felt like the distant past. They were Kiyama's words. A warning that seemed like they were becoming more and more true with each day.

"Maybe," I whispered. Saten grabbed my hand and brought it clutched in her hands to her chest.

"It does, Misaka. We'll figure out away. Don't worry," she insisted. "Now come on, we're deciding on our next move."

Saten dragged me back to our main base. Lain and Alice were as far away from Kiyama as manners would allow, mostly keeping themselves. The doctor was examining her fingernails with a passive interest, squirming away whenever someone took a look at her. Kuroko and Uiharu were sitting near the center. They were quietly discussing things quietly between them.

Saten and I joined Kuroko and Uiharu. "Alright gang, I think it's time to make our big move," Kuroko announced. "And I'm not talking about just relocating. With the doctor and her evidence, we can make our case to the public."

Alice nodded. "I agree, we should move quickly before Anti-Skill bears down on us," she said.

Kiyama looked up, her face unimpressed. "Sure, but you'll have to do more than post a video on the web. A sustained media barrage is what's needed to win public support. Without that the corporations that have pumped resources into the city over the years will do what it takes to stop you," she pointed out. There was a coldness to her words. "This place has been a gold mine over the last few years. They'll defend it as hard as they can."

"We can release a video and corresponding paper a week for a while. They may brush the first few off but if we keep at it, it will become impossible for them to deny all of them!" Uiharu declared.

"Okay well we still need to get off the island or figure out a way to get access to the Internet from here," I pointed out.

"Yes, and I have something in mind for getting out of here," Kiyama informed. "The emergency evacuation system in the northwest of the city."

"Is that still a thing? I thought they ditched that after the storm protocols were started?" Saten asked.

Kiyama nodded. "Technically no. But the system is still intact. A final failsafe in the event of "total catastrophic failure." What that constitutes now I haven't a clue. But it's still useable and that's all that matters at the moment," she explained. She crossed her arms.

"Well why not try an get access to the Internet here?" Alice spoke up.

"Because that would require an assault on Root Headquarters. After recent events, I doubt Railgun is up for that," Kiyama rebutted. I nodded in agreement. Such a plan would end well for no one.

"Alright, all in favor of using the emergency evacuation system?" Kuroko asked. Everyone but Lain raised a hand. "Okay we're decided. Let's pack up and head out."

Uiharu and Saten started collecting the loose pieces lying around the place. Lain began to pace around the perimeter of the alcove. Alice started to help a little. Kiyama watched with a bemused smirk. I took a deep breath and followed Lain.

"I know this isn't optimal," I whispered to her. "But things are really looking now."

"You should have let me end her," Lain hissed.

"Come on, Lain. You're not a monster," I told her. Lain twirled to me and grabbed my collar.

"Aren't I? Misaka they put in my head a command that renders me entirely helpless! Why else would I have that if I weren't a monster," she pointed out in a colder than usual manner for her.

I grabbed her hand. "That's just what Caiaphas and her lackeys want you to think. You _are_ better than that," I insisted. "You're as human as the rest of us."

Lain ripped her hand away. "Don't lie to me. I know what I am and it's not human," she barked. She looked utterly wounded.

"Don't say that! You know what I am, where I came from. You're lying when you say that. I'm a machine put in the guise of a girl; a bunch of chips and wires hooked up to some grey matter," Lain retorted. That hit me square in the gut. I reached out and wrapped my arms around her.

"It's not a lie, Lain. You are human. Maybe not entirely in a physical sense. But you are one regardless, and I don't care what you think," I whispered. Lain felt cold. The top of her odd hair brushed the skin under my jaw.

I could feel Lain tremble in my arms. "Hey, it'll be okay. We're going to be okay, understand," I whispered.

"Misaka, I don't want them to control me anymore," she said.

"We'll figure it out. I'll free you, I promise," I swore.

"You're making a lot of promises. Are you sure you can keep them?"

My lip curled into my mouth. "Maybe, but I'm going to do my best alright?" I assured her. I looked up from Lain to see Uiharu and Saten were finished packing. Lain and I broke off our embrace. We each took some of the load.

Our small band made its way through the sewer system. There was an ominous air to the whole affair. We were quiet throughout the proceedings. No one dared breathe out of step.

Occasionally an unknown sound would bring us to the edge. Only the return of reassuring stillness would allow us to continue. Saten and Kuroko took point throughout. Uiharu and Alice along with Kiyama occupied the middle, hauling most of our gear with them. Lain and I took up the rear. The two of us ready to intervene in at a moment's notice.

We stopped about two kilometers short of our target. Most everyone else had started to make our camp. I took a stroll around the edge. Kuroko followed me. She kept a good half a meter behind me. "You haven't talked much with me in a long time, Sissy," she said. I sighed a bit waiting to be berated. "I just wanted to make sure everything is alright between us. I know that I can...irritate you."

I turned around, giving her a small smile. "You do and I'm sorry about the whole no talking thing. There's just a lot on my mind," I replied. Kuroko nodded. "But I'm proud of you. You've kept this ragtag band of fools going. We're going to need that on the mainland."

"Will it be enough? Getting the files and videos out?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"And what happens, to...well us? The students, I mean," Kuroko asked with a very nervous tone.

"I don't know. Hopefully they'll just clean house and we can go on like things used to be," I answered. It wasn't very satisfactory but it was all I had at the moment. There was so much uncertainty and it was all getting to us.

Something tingled in the back of my mind. My heart stopped for a moment. I put up a finger to silence Kuroko and sent out and electric field far off into the sewer pipes. Indeed something was disturbing it. "Kuroko, grab what you can and run," I whispered.

Kuroko bit her lip and nodded, silently sneaking back to our camp. My fingers curled up in anticipation. I began to creep forward, towards the intruder. There was a stillness in the air. I slowed my breathing down to as low as I could.

Sweat started to drip down from my hair. I could hear something rattle in the distance. A low mumble of voices meandered down the hall. The hair on the back of my neck stuck up. I stopped at the corner.

My breathing slowed up. I created a layer of sparks around my body and turned the corner. Several maintenance were working on some interior structure work. They looked at me, eyes widening with each passing second. One of them broke off and ran towards the exit a few meters behind the main group.

I backtracked behind the corner and broke into a sprint back to base. The group was packed up. "Split up, meet at the evacuation tomorrow night," I said. I looked at the ceiling. "I'll hold their attention."

I didn't hear their response because I'd already rushed for the nearest ladder up. The northeast of Academy City was home of most of the elementary schools and special needs students. So there wasn't too much of a surprise when I came up to find a flock of children on their lunch break. They were surprised though. I stumbled past them, shielding my eyes from the sunlight.

A security camera stationed on a lamppost drew my attention. I walked over to it and gazed into its eye with an unimpressed grimace before I raised my hand. A klaxon sounded from the camera and the lamp began to flash red. I created a charge inside the device and sent a bolt of lightning into it.

The camera fried under the voltage. Someone screamed and panic set in. The children began to stampede as teachers emerged to maintain some semblance of order. A couple of Anti-Skill officers approached me, pistols out and aimed squarely at me. I took a deep breath as they unloaded into me.

It felt...odd. The bullets flew towards me and no fear flooded my veins. No survival instinct kicked in as the lead flew towards me, ripping into my skin.

 _To Be Continued..._

* * *

A/N: There is one platitude that's always sort of bugged me, the phrase "the truth shall set us free." Maybe it's the abuse the phrase has taken over the years thanks to conspiracy nuts or some philosophical quibble of what truth or free means. Sure knowing what is true is useful and generally good, but anything beyond that always seems to lead to woo land. I'm personally in the _Veritas Vincit_ , truth prevails, camp; that is what is true (i.e. statements that correspond to reality) will eventually become accepted given time. Perhaps naive, but seeing our progress as a species over the last couple hundred years, I think I have some justification.

Back on topic. If Moses speaking to the burning bush is my favorite scene in the Bible, the "temptation" of Eve has to be my second (for the record the zombie march after Jesus died is my third). I mean the phrase "and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" is perhaps one of the most famous lines in English. I find it an interesting line, especially when considering the role of gods in just about every mythology I can think of: their role as judges of humanity. This is why I rather enjoyed writing Lain's judgement of Kiyama. It creates a nice contrast with Misaka and her internal struggles.


	5. Layer V

The following is a non-profit, fan work based off the respective works of Kazuma Kamachi and Ryūtarō Nakamura

All rights belong to the original creators, J.C. Staff Co., Ltd.; and Triangle Staff

The Bluefire Phoenix presents...

A Chapter of _The Epsilon Protocols_...

Layer V: Fear is Only a Chemical Reaction

There was something about that moment. It was hard to describe, even as it was happening. But imagine a group of men and women trained to handle absurdities that even the most creative comic book writer wouldn't come up being left dumbfounded. That might be the best way to put it.

I suppose one could be merciful when put into the proper context. Afterall, several centuries worth of experience tells us that when a fired bullet make contact with flesh they do damage. The five or six shot at me should have ended a girl my age and size.

Of course said five or six bullets whizzing right through my body like vapor might have spared their consciences years of therapy. Small consolation as my body rematerialized in a small storm of electrical discharge. All the years of training and street service vanished in a quick blaze of confusion.

For a brief but very satisfying moment, I ate it up. I took a look at my hand with a disinterested gaze, slowly curling my fingers in and out whilst carefully examining the nails. They curled into my palm. I could feel the small glimmer of pain and withdrew the nails, signifying that I was whole again. Whatever that really meant now.

My would be attackers didn't find the display too encouraging. Several of them dropped their weapon and started backing away as slowly as possible. Those few that didn't were still stunned. They didn't stick around for much longer. A single step forward from my leg was enough to break their will.

I followed them for a couple hundred meters to an exit ladder. There was no need for me to even grab the grime and rust colored bars. Simple magnetic levitation rose me up, out our the sewers and into the setting sun. A small battalion of Anti-Skill officers had gathered at a distance around the exit.

The day was surprisingly calm. Alas there weren't a lot of clouds in the sky, allowing the hot Texas sun to reign unabated over the scene. No sound of traffic or patter of feet met my ears. Only the sound of

At my feet was a cellphone. It was in the missed of receiving a call from a blocked number. I reached down and picked it up. "Caiaphas I presume," I greeted. My breathing slowed a bit.

"However did you tell?" the twisted doctor asked. The sarcasm in her voice was tinged with just enough charm to make it sound like a genuine question. The small chuckle that broke out after the question was the only confirmation I needed. "Well I guess that it wasn't too hard to guess. So Mikoto, are you willing to give up?"

It was my turn to laugh. "If you think that these toys of yours are going to persuade me to surrender, then you are delusional," I snorted. I began to form charges a few meters around me.

"Oh no Mikoto, I'm far from delusional. The reason I'm so confident about your imminent 'surrender' is that I'm pretty sure I know something that's happening to you. Based on Pandora's report, you know it as well," Caiaphas purred. I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"And what would that be?" I demanded. My voice did it's best to hide my now frayed nerves.

"Simply that parts of your body are starting to become intangible for brief moments in time. It's a side effect of exerting yourself as a Level Six, similar to nose bleeds suffered by lower level ESPers when they exert themselves. Only for you it's even worse, because eventually your body will simply lose all atomic cohesion," Caiaphas slowly explained. She snapped her fingers loud enough to be heard over the phone. "Then you'll just disappear. Less messy than bleeding out, but far creepier"

My lips curled into my mouth. "You're lying," I decreed. "I'm fine."

"There's no need to be so accusatory. Why would I lie to you about your inevitable death? See I still need you, Mikoto and I can save you from that terrible fate if you just cooperate with me," Caiaphas pleaded.

I kept silent. I was trying to mull over her offer. It was rather tempting. "Besides you can't risk abandoning Lain and your friends. So I promise that if you come in, I'll keep away from all your friends. I'll even leave Lain to her own devices," the woman bargained.

My toes tapped in impatience as my eyes narrowed in at the ground. "Your promises aren't worth jack to me at the moment. Here's what's going to happen: I'm going to wipe the floor with these jokers, then I'm going to get off this island and tell the whole flipping world of all the evils you committed here," I declared. The following silence gnawed at my patience.

"Very well, just remember that I warned you before that any blood spilled now is on your hands. This might be the last time I ask you to come quietly. If you don't, I will take drastic action against your classmates," Caiaphas delivered her ultimatum over the quiet.

A flash of anger came over me as the remnants of her words echoed in my head. "Are you seriously going to hurt even more children?" I barked. My body trembled with rage. It was the way she spoke that triggered my reaction.

I heard the woman sigh. "We can discuss the ethics of my earlier research another time. At the moment though I don't have much of a choice. If you'd just come with me–"

"No, you can't justify anything you've done on this godforsaken island. I'm not going to help you. In fact I'll protect every student here from you and your goons," I proclaimed. My voice echoed around the plaza.

"Very well Ms. Misaka. I guess I'll see you later than expected. Good luck in the meantime," Caiaphas signed off. The way she said those last words sent a shiver down my spine. They were dripping with such arrogance and condescension that it should've been laughably naive. But the layer of sincerity and seriousness on top made me anxious. She'd caught me before.

The line went dead. I dropped the phone, letting it crash against the warm concrete. My blood was flooded with a certain cold wash. Indeed it wasn't that long ago. But the last time I was weaker. Going in I thought I had something that Caiaphas didn't anticipate. It was something that had terrified me because I didn't know what it was.

Now though? A brief conversation with that woman had erased that initial advantage and inflamed those earlier doubts.

The Anti-Skill officers at the edges of my vision started to stir. My hair started stand up on the back of my head. There was a smoke laden scent in the air. If it weren't for survival instincts, I'd have been unable to move.

A helicopter hovered in the distance. I forced the manhole cover up and in front of me. Several clinks reverberated around the metal plate. It dropped to the ground with a loud clang. My thoughts recalled Caiaphas's words about what was happening to me. She had to be lying. I was fine. Just developing a new power. It happens. I was fine.

Right?

Caiaphas was lying. She just wanted me to be afraid. I'm afraid she succeeded. I was now terrified of the bullets set against me. I was terrified of disappearing. No matter how I tried to rid myself of that eerie snap and hushed prophecy, they clawed back into my head.

What if it happens now? It was the thought that constantly raced through my head. Caiaphas was the one who said it. She echoed the question over and over.

The only thing left for me was to run. That I did. It was all I could muster for the moment. My feet picked up, moving me step by step away from the fight. Those who were waiting for me pursued. I zigged and zagged through the streets.

No matter which way I went I was followed. The pursuit sent me into a nervous sweat. Throughout my run I never heard them coming. I could just feel them getting closer and closer until I had to move again.

They were a relentless mob, hunting down a 'monster' of their master's creation. Nothing could shake them. It had been hours that I was on the run when I finally collapsed. The sun was starting to set, casting odd shadows on the water.

My head could barely turn to witness the beauty. I heard footsteps approach me. There was nothing left for me but the end. Whatever that may be for me.

"My, my, Railgun. You really don't know when to quit do you? Even once you're safe you just keep going. It's actually rather impressive," the condescending voice of Kiyama spoke. She squatted down next to me. She had a pleased smile on her face.

I lifted my head up. "How'd you–"

The woman raised up a finger. "Uiharu and I were able to hack in and disrupt Anti-Skill's system enough to get them to call off the chase after a while. I like that kid. If I somehow get out of this alright, maybe I'll hire her to be my assistant," the woman mused.

"You wouldn't dare," I growled as I got to my feet. We were by a closed cafe with outdoor seating.

Kiyama shrugged her shoulders. "Okay maybe not. So what happened, why didn't you wipe the floor with those chumps?" she requested.

My body went cold. "I got scared," I admitted. Kiyama looked legitimately surprised.

"Really? What could frighten one such as you?"

I curled my fist. "Caiaphas said I'm...losing atomic cohesion," I explained. That really made Kiyama perk up.

"Yeah, I suppose total disintegration is something we all should be afraid of. Pretty hard to recover from that," she said. She rubbed the back of her head.

"But is it true, what she said," I asked. I was almost begging for her to lie to me.

"Well do you think you are?"

"I don't know. I'm just a kid!" I shouted. I did resist stomping my feet.

"Sorry, sometimes I forget. Well electricity is really weird, and the way you manipulate it can have detrimental effects over time. So yeah, Caiaphas is probably right," she answered. Kiyama sat down at a table and looked over the menu. She brushed aside her hair a brief moment revealing for a moment, four dot shaped scars arranged like a diamond on her temple.

"She says she can help stop it," I said.

"Yeah, she most certainly can," Kiyama retorted. She put down the menu.

She wasn't wrong. I doubt Caiaphas would lie about that specifically, if I meant as much as she constantly implied. "But can I risk it? Can I just walk up and hand myself over to her?" I asked.

Kiyama folded her arms over her chest. "Do you know why I designed Testament?" she asked.

My brow rose a moment in surprise. "I didn't even know you did," I muttered. Kiyama shook her head.

"Yeah well, I did. See when I was a student moving to America, I had a horrible accent. I could barely create a coherent English sentence with my mouth," she said. "No one made fun of me for it. But it was just...irksome how I could write an elegant paper on prepubescent ESPer neurodevelopmental issues but couldn't order a drink at a restaurant without sounding like an idiot."

My attention was somewhat drawn to the woman's story. "So you created Testament to get rid of it?" I asked. My words were drier than the Sonora. "Teach yourself to not speak with an accent." I looked over to Kiyama.

Her head was now hung, thick brown bangs hiding her eyes. "So I did. But there were side effects that I failed to discern . When I woke up, I couldn't remember how to speak Japanese but my English was and still is flawless," she said. Her voice trembled a bit. She took in a deep breath.

"She told me that the cost was worth it, that the breakthroughs of my failure were invaluable. Then a couple months later the Testament 2.0 line vindicated that belief. I was convinced that I could help revolutionize the world," Kiyama said. There was a hint of nostalgic pride in her words. "Thus we became Caiaphas and Judas."

"Don't you think it's a bad idea to name yourselves after the villains?" I asked.

"Not really, for without them: there would be no salvation. That's who we became. Those that would perform evil in the name of producing the greatest good," Kiyama insisted.

"And how is this supposed to help me decide?"

Kiyama rolled her eyes. "You'll find my point to be, Railgun, that you should be careful whenever you make a choice because you think it feels right. You should consider it and its implications at least a little," she answered.

I began to pace around, looking for an answer. There wasn't one that I like. Going in with Caiaphas risked Lain and everyone's safety. Staying away meant I might very well die. How could I let that happen to my friends? I'd be abandoning them! But if I could just get them off this island, then I'd turn myself over. It was more risky than our earlier plan, but maybe if…

"How hard would it be to start a full fledged evacuation of the city?" I asked.

Kiyama straightened up in her seat. A curious grin emerged on her face. "With me and Uiharu, a few hours to get into the system. It's an interesting move. Anti-Skill will inevitably have to choose between helping the evacuation or hunting for us. I approve of this," she purred. The doctor stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I haven't told you what I'm going to do," I reminded her.

"I don't think that matters," Kiyama replied. "How could I stop you even if I wanted to?"

I squirmed a bit. "Are you really that scared of me?" I asked.

Kiyama let out a sigh. "Fear is only a chemical reaction. A useful one as it tells us who or what to avoid, and that generally keeps us alive. With you Railgun, I thought I'd get that reaction. But I don't," she said. "At least not in the useful sense. More a sense of awe."

"You know I'm real tired of your bull about us being gods," I said to her.

"What would you have me call you? Railgun, if you wanted to you could destroy me right here and now with a quarter. You could examine a computer network in a matter of minutes with a simple touch of your hand. And any counter attack I attempt to stop you from doing these things would literally go right through you. What else would you have me call you Railgun?" Kiyama asked of me.

My hand curled up. "For starters, you could call me by my name," I struck back.

"Sorry Railgun, that's just how I roll. Calling you by a human name just doesn't seem proper."

"Please, just call me by my name. I may just start to forgive you," I pleaded.

Kiyama laughed a little. "Well it's too bad I ain't looking for your forgiveness, Railgun," she said.

I looked up at her with confusion. "Then why go to all the trouble of helping me?"

The woman shrugged. "Because it's the right thing to do; and regardless of outcome, Caiaphas will fall," Kiyama answered. She removed her hand from my shoulder. I sighed. "We should go, Railgun. Time's short as it is." The doctor strode off. I followed her.

"So is this all a game to you?" I asked. "Because every move you make always has to come back to Caiaphas."

Kiyama turned her head towards me. "My career is dead. If I make it off this island, I'll most likely be looking at a long prison sentence, and I have no friends or loved ones. What else do I have but tearing down the woman who helped lead me here?" she asked me. "Call it vengeance if you want."

"Why not redemption?"

"Because I don't want it," Kiyama said. We stopped at a small warehouse. Kiyama jiggered with a security pad and the door hissed open. The two of us snuck in. Uiharu shut it from her computer station just to the right of the door.

She smiled at us. "Welcome, Misaka," she said.

I looked around. "Where's everyone else?" I asked.

Uiharu shrugged. "We split up not long after you left. The doctor and I made our way here. Saten and Kuroko are together and–"

She was interrupted by a thud coming from the door. I took point as another thud hit the door. That was the one that brought it down. The rest of the gang was there! Lain was at the front, covered in sweat and ruffled cloths. She was biting her lips pretty hard.

The second she laid eyes on me, she rushed forward. I embraced her. It was one of the most precious moments of my life. "Misaka, what's wrong?" she whispered. I ran my hands through Lain's strange hair. My eyes looked up for a minute to see Alice. The girl looked understanding. Not entirely happy but not upset.

"Don't worry about it," I assured her. I took a step back from Lain. "But you have no idea how glad I am to see you."

"Not to bring this reunion to an end, but we're still on the island," Kuroko pointed out.

Kiyama nodded. "Don't worry. We have a new plan. Instead of sneaking off by ourselves, we're going to bring the whole damn island with us," she said.

"And how's that supposed to work?" Saten asked. "Convincing everyone to abandon this place when there is nothing wrong isn't going to be easy. Especially if Anti-Skill is there to tell them to stop."

Uiharu shook her head in disagreement. "Well not if the students don't listen to Anti-Skill. Convince enough to go through the with the evacuation and Anti-Skill will have no choice but to do their job," she countered.

"So we should focus on winning over some of the student leadership?" Alice asked.

"That would help," I said.

Saten nodded. "Sounds good," she said. "Let's get going then."

 _To Be Continued..._

* * *

A/N: And we're back. To address Jack Whitty's question: maybe? It does seem appealing. If I can find a theme in there that I want to explore, I will most certainly give it a look. But I'm really committed to this story for now.


End file.
